M61 chaos causes huge delays across Bolton tonight

Drivers in Bolton faced long delays this evening after a dramatic vehicle fire and collision on the M61 caused hours of congestion.

Emergency services raced to the M61 soutbound between 6 A6027 De Havilland Way (Horwich) to J5 A58 Snydale Way (Westhoughton) following the incident at around 2:15pm on Friday (November 8).

The carriageway was initially fully closed for around an hour, before one lane reopened at approximately 3:30pm. But long delays of around an hour spilled over onto surrounding roads, causing traffic chaos.

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The huge delays continued throughout the evening, with a second lane reopening at around 6pm. But it took until around 7pm for congestion to clear completely.

Dramatic footage filmed by an onlooker showed the moment a car burst into flames following the collision. Thankfully, nobody was injured in the incident.

A spokesperson for Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service (GMFRS) said: “At just before 2.15pm on Friday (November 8) two fire engines from Wigan and Atherton fire stations attended a crash involving two cars on the M61 southbound, with one car subsequently setting alight.

“Firefighters wearing breathing apparatus used one hose reel to extinguish the fire with crews working alongside partners from North West Ambulance Service, Greater Manchester Police, and National Highways to make the surrounding area safe. GMFRS were in attendance for around 45 minutes.”